Waiting for the Lord's Return
by Ace Trainer Alicia
Summary: Our dear World Guardian has some catching up to do with a friend. How they catch up, however, might very well surprise her. Azzy/WG, lemonade, oneshot


_**Warning: Lemon/smut; Mahjarrat/human. Read at your own discretion.**_

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><p>The newly minted World Guardian stood silently before the restored altar of Zaros, pausing to wring out her pigtails before gazing at the communion portal behind the altar. She stayed like that for a long moment before wringing out her hair again, setting her staff down, and kneeling to pray.<p>

Puddles of water dripped in her wake—she had evidently been out in the rain for a long time. Her bright purple pigtails were thoroughly drenched and practically stuck to the sides of her head, and her clothing was completely soaked through. She was shivering a little from being so wet.

Azzanadra watched her pray at a distance, a sense of relief overcoming him. He hadn't seen the young adventurer since the whole Guthix nonsense had happened, and it had been rather worrisome that she hadn't come here to pay her respects to the Empty Lord for nearly three weeks. She normally showed up far more consistently; what might've kept her this time? Still, it seemed there had been no need to worry—she had been an absolutely invaluable ally so far, and here she was now, still as loyal to Zaros as ever.

She slowly rose to her feet, wringing some of the water out of her silvery-blue overcoat before she picked up her staff again. Azzanadra wasn't sure if she intended to stay any longer or leave right away, and there was no point in waiting to see which she had in mind.

"Jaina! Wait."

Jaina turned, startled, towards the sound of the voice. As she caught sight of the Mahjarrat slowly approaching her, her face turned a deep red color, and she smiled rather awkwardly.

"Oh! I… I didn't see you there…"

She twisted her left pigtail to wring it out further, and Azzanadra noticed that she was standing uncomfortably close to the altar. Before she had a chance to wring out the other pigtail again, he was quick to snatch her hand. "Watch where you do that! You'll get the altar all wet!"

Jaina hastily moved further away from the altar and tried to pull her hand back. "I-I'm sorry… I… I should've paid more attention…"

Azzanadra's expression softened a little, though he didn't release her hand. He hadn't meant to yell at her like that, and it wasn't her fault she'd had to walk through rain to get here—but there were delicate magicks woven within that altar, and Zaros only knew what might happen if it got wet!

Still rather firmly hanging onto her hand, he motioned for her to follow him. "This way."

Jaina shivered as she followed behind him, trying to keep a bit of a distance. Zaros was likely going to be extremely pissed at her for getting water all over the temple floor, and even with her newly granted immunity to godly power, she really did not want to get on the Empty Lord's bad side. It was bad enough she'd forgotten to pay a visit until now because she'd been spending all her time on divination lately—in fact she had literally rushed over from the nearby wisps the moment she realized she'd forgotten.

Oh, why did it have to be raining so hard now? Why did Azzanadra of all people have to see her like this? And there wasn't much she could do about it, either. She hadn't packed a change of clothes or runes for a fire spell, and it wasn't like there was anywhere she could change in here. Oh well, at least her dress and overcoat weren't ruined from the rain.

"So, um…" she finally said, desperately trying to ignore how uncomfortable her wet clothes felt. "Has there been any progress towards Zaros' glorious return or anything?"

"Not at the moment, but it should happen in due time." He let her hand go and turned to face her. "I do hope you will be there to witness it when it does happen."

"I… Me too." She nodded and averted her gaze, wringing her hands a bit. "I—I tried my best that time, I did. With the whole Guthix thing I mean…"

"Ah yes, you were a great ally to us there—thank you." A hint of a smile crossed his face briefly. "I will be sure to tell Zaros of your part in it when I can."

He took a moment to look her over. "Did you get the gift I sent you?"

Jaina couldn't help but blush profusely at the mention of that. She had indeed intended to wear the lovely shirt he had given her when she next visited the temple, but it would have taken too much time to run and change even if she had thought of it before; besides, she didn't dare risk getting something so delicate wet. Well, she might be one to talk, given how much her current clothing had cost, but still.

"Yes… it's so beautiful. I… I don't know how to thank you…"

"Merely wearing it would be suitable thanks. Any reason you aren't wearing it at the moment?"

"I didn't want to damage it." Jaina looked down at her hands again. "I'd be wearing it now, but it's been raining too hard for that, and I didn't want to keep Zaros waiting too long…"

Azzanadra found it hard to hide his disappointment. As pleasing as it was to know that she appreciated his gift, he had been rather looking forward to actually seeing what it looked like on her.

"I would still very much like to see you in it," he said. "It would suit you well."

Jaina smiled awkwardly and blushed an even brighter red, her eyes glued to the floor. Such a strange reaction to a compliment… however, Azzanadra was getting sort of used to the odd way she acted around him. Not that he understood it at all—why would she want to shy away from him or look anywhere but at him when she so clearly fancied him? If that was the human way of expressing affection, then it was certainly a wonder that Gielinor was so full of them.

For that matter, why wouldn't she even admit her feelings? He was certainly well aware of her "little crush" on him, as she would put it—it was painfully obvious to anyone with half a brain. She had nothing to lose by confessing it; what did she think he was going to do, blow her head off with a blood spell? Or was she merely worried that he would spurn her affections? That might be it, but even Enakhra was at least straightforward about her slavering desire for Zamorak, and that was more onesided than a line in the sand.

Well, Jaina hadn't entirely kept quiet about her "little crush;" she'd actually confessed it to Wahisietel, who had then relayed to Azzanadra what she had said: "I—I like him… but only at a distance. It would be stupid to think he would even look at little me that way…" If she could say that to Wahisietel, why couldn't she just tell him directly?

He wasn't going to wonder for much longer—she would confess before they parted ways this evening. She might very well be surprised by what she might learn.

Sliding a hand under her chin, he slowly tilted her head upward so that she was actually looking at him. "I'm up here, Jaina."

"Ah!" The young adventurer recoiled slightly, startled. "Sorry—I-I wasn't ignoring you…"

"You don't need to apologize so much when you haven't done anything wrong," he said, letting go of her chin. "Is something the matter?"

Well, now that he mentioned it, Jaina remembered something that had indeed rather been eating her—well, not so much some_thing_ as some_one, _and thank Zaros it wasn't literally so.

"About the whole Guthix thing," she said, wringing out each of her pigtails again. "Why… Why did Sliske suddenly decide to do that?"

"If I knew the answer to that, I'd tell you," he said, looking thoughtful. "Sliske may have betrayed our trust… but he did at least kill Guthix in the name of Zaros. He did us all a service, even if we would not agree with his methods."

"So you don't think he was trying to become a god?" She shivered and looked down at her hands. "Ohhh… I'd hate to think of what he would be like as a god…"

"No," he said, shaking his head. "I have known Sliske for my entire life, and I do not believe he would ever strive for that. It would be too much responsibility for him."

"I—I hope you're right…" Her voice was shaking just as much as her hands were. "I… Even thinking about him scares the crap out of me…"

It was no wonder she was afraid of Sliske; obviously she didn't want to be an undead slave to anyone. Well, Zaros' plan didn't involve her undeath, and while Azzanadra was tempted to assure her that Sliske claiming her soul wasn't in said plan, she couldn't know the details.

She had, however, given him the perfect opportunity to change the subject—if she didn't want to think about Sliske, she wouldn't have to.

"Do you feel the same way towards me?"

Jaina blinked, looking confused. "What?"

"Your fear of Sliske is justified, but I can't help but wonder if you find me intimidating as well." Azzanadra drew closer to her, and she inched slightly further back. "You keep shying away, staring at the floor, wringing your hands… We've been acquainted long enough for you to know I won't harm you, my dear."

Jaina turned a deep red and tried to stifle a gasp. He had actually called her "my dear…" Did that mean he was taking a liking to her too? Well, a _liking_-liking, anyway; she already knew that he seemed to like her so far… On the other hand, she felt embarrassed to have him think she was afraid. Why did she always have to act like such a moron around him?

"Oh, I… well… I, um… I-it's not that I-I'm afraid!" She wanted to bang her head against the wall; she sounded about as convincing as a pirate trying to disguise himself as a prince. "I mean, if I were afraid of you, I-I'd kind of try to avoid you as much as p-possible… So I probably wouldn't hang around here much, or even sh-show up unless I had to…"

"Well, if you don't fear me, then you have nothing to fear by saying what you truly think of me." He drew closer again, his dark eyes meeting her gray ones, and this time she didn't have any away to shy to, because she had backed into a wall.

Jaina could feel her mouth go dry as she noticed her position. Being in the presence of the towering Mahjarrat tended to make her feel small, and such close proximity only made her feel even smaller. She was really, really glad he wasn't her enemy, though she was still extremely nervous.

How in the name of Zaros was she supposed to say how she truly felt? He was probably just going to laugh if she confessed her crush, and even if he didn't, the uncertainty of how he might react made her too nervous to admit it. It would hurt if he turned her down, but if he liked her back, how was she supposed to actually be with him? What was she supposed to say—"Oh, I'm seeing my spiritual mentor, who happens to be several thousand years older than me, and about a kajillion times as powerful, and did I mention the part about bringing back an ancient mysterious god?" Sure, that would certainly go over well—especially with all the Saradominists out there. And the Guardians of Guthix would probably say she was going to start the next God Wars in the name of love. Even though it wasn't her fault that Guthix was gone, Zaros wasn't going to start another god war, and she wouldn't really say she was in love; it was more admiration really…

"Go on, Jaina—I don't bite." Three simple words; how hard were they to say? It wasn't like she was confessing to desecrating an altar to Zaros. Humans were so difficult to understand—why would someone so short-lived be so hesitant to express affection anyway? Ah well, he shouldn't get too impatient.

Jaina swallowed hard and wrung her sweating hands. It appeared she wasn't going anywhere until she told the truth—she might as well. She took a deep breath and silently prayed to Zaros to grant her the strength to not sound stupid.

"I… I like you, Azzanadra!"

So she had finally confessed, and Azzanadra was slightly astonished at how sweet it sounded to hear it directly from her. It did, however, sound like an understatement, though it didn't surprise him—she had told Wahisietel merely that she "liked" him, too.

"I presume that's an understatement?"

Jaina's face was still bright red. "Well, uh… yes, I—I mean I really like you a lot! I mean, it's slightly more than ordinary like-a-friend liking and all…"

And there she went again, sounding absolutely stupid! Open mouth, insert foot… She looked down again, still blushing.

Azzanadra chuckled softly and tilted her chin up so she was looking straight at him. "I know what you mean, my dear; you don't have to over-explain." He lightly brushed a loose strand of hair off her forehead. "Was that really so hard to say? It certainly took you long enough."

Jaina couldn't help but gasp. "You—you knew all along?"

"Oh, it wasn't hard to tell at all. Particularly those times you were only half listening as I told you of my lord's glorious empire because you were staring at me! Why, you should have seen the way your eyes were lit up!"

Predictably, she blushed at that, and he moved his hand downward to touch her cheek. "I do wonder why you didn't confess sooner. Did you think I wouldn't notice?"

"I—I didn't think you would care," Jaina said, feeling a shiver go down her spine from his touch. "Isn't Zaros' glorious return slightly more important than some simple common-born adventurer's little crush?"

She certainly had her priorities straight, and her loyalty was to be admired—but how naïve she was if she thought herself that unimportant to him! It seemed there was much she still had to learn.

"On the contrary, Jaina, while our lord's return is indeed top priority, I hardly find your affections to be inconsequential." Taking her hand in his, he graciously kissed it. "Care to dance?"

Jaina wasn't sure how to react. Should she be shocked? Nervous? Bouncing around excitedly and chanting "Azzanadra likes me" at the top of her lungs? Her hand was trembling; she could still feel his kiss there, though she couldn't quite believe she wasn't dreaming the whole thing.

As for the dancing, she didn't normally like to dance; she always felt so awkward—and the last time she could recall dancing with someone was when she was with her husband. Oh, Brand… she could never forget the all-too-short time they had had together…

No, she couldn't think about that now. She would want to cry, and she felt stupid crying in Azzanadra's presence. She'd been embarrassed enough about breaking down in tears trying to say "Sliske tried to turn me into an undead slave of his" after the ritual thing; the last thing she needed to do right now was weep for her lost love. It wasn't like crying was going to bring him back anyway.

Regardless of whether she liked to dance or not, she could dance decently, and she could hardly refuse such a request from Zaros' champion. She slowly nodded and stretched out her other hand, wishing she could get it to stop shaking as she placed it on his shoulder.

As he proceeded to lead her in a slow dance, Azzanadra noticed that the young mage's clothing was no longer soaked through, but merely rather damp. No doubt the lava pits in the corners of the temple might've had something to do with her considerably drier state. Her dress was still clinging rather closely to her figure, though, and he rather appreciated the sight. Human women in general weren't bad to look at, and Jaina was certainly no exception, but she seemed to grow prettier the more he saw her.

He twirled her around and underneath him, noticing how fluidly and gracefully she moved. She was still shaking a bit, but she was clearly quite agile, and she hadn't made a single misstep yet.

Her presence had always been uplifting, but she seemed particularly inviting, alluring even, now… He was hardly one to chase after human women; it seemed that might have been more Lucien's department—though who would have been insane enough to sleep with that putrid dog, he couldn't fathom. On the other hand, this wasn't the first time he'd thought such things about her, and surely it wouldn't be the last.

"Ah!" She had nearly slipped, but she managed to regain her balance without a hitch.

"You dance quite well." He smiled slightly and brought her to a standstill, though he still kept her hand in his.

"I-I do? Well, I-I'm good at a lot of things," she said, smiling awkwardly.

"I've noticed." Drawing closer to her, he held her hand a bit more firmly. "Close your eyes."

She stared at him and blinked. "Why?"

So she hadn't cottoned on yet? Even after she had confessed to liking him? How very human of her.

"You'll see, my dear… you'll see."

Jaina didn't know what to expect when she closed her eyes, but she didn't have long to wonder before Azzanadra lifted her up, twirling her around, and swiftly captured her lips in a searing kiss. She couldn't help but gasp as her eyes snapped wide open, and almost immediately she felt his tongue glide over her lips, asking for entrance.

She hesitated a moment, still not quite sure what to make of this, and then gave into her curiosity and slowly parted her lips—not too much, just enough to allow him to explore her mouth.

And explore he did, one hand catching in her hair as he deepened the kiss. The height difference did make it harder for her to respond in kind, and she had to rise up on tiptoe, shivering a little as she did so.

She was still shaking when they came up for air, and her eyes had grown rather wide. Part of her was still in a state of stunned shock, but the more curious side of her was wondering if they could do that again.

"I-I-I—what? Dear Zaros…" she finally managed to say, still staring wide-eyed.

"Were you surprised?"

She merely nodded, and Azzanadra shook his head. "You're a worthy and intelligent one, my dear, but you really should have seen that one coming."

Jaina realized he was probably right—she couldn't think of anything else he could possibly have wanted to give her that required closing her eyes. On the other hand, she also couldn't think of any reason why he would've wanted to kiss her, either. Why would someone as powerful and long-lived as he was be attracted to her? She wasn't that pretty, and she doubted that the Mahjarrat cared much about beauty. Still, it had happened, and she didn't understand it one bit.

Azzanadra was still wondering why the purple-haired girl had reacted with such surprise. She shouldn't be so shocked; she was smart enough to put the pieces together. Contact with Zaros wasn't the only thing she had restored; he could feel a growing urge, one he normally ignored and that had been at bay for thousands of years. Jaina might be human—extraordinary for her kind, but still human—however, she was still an interested, available female, and quite within reach. He knew he wouldn't be her first—some silly Fremennik prince had claimed that distinction—but he didn't particularly mind, so long as she didn't yell out anyone else's name. Why did humans worry so much about their females being intact anyway?

Dear Zaros, how inviting she looked now! How he wished to kiss her again—and how he wished to touch her further, loosen her hair from those pigtails, free her from that closely clinging dress! It would be all too easy to overpower and claim her by force, but he was above such cruel behavior—and why would he want to harm her anyway? He could only hope she would come to him freely.

"Jaina, might I ask a favor of you? Not one for Zaros this time, but for me, personally."

"A personal favor?" Jaina frowned and glanced down at her hands again. "I-I hope it doesn't involve anything trying to kill me…"

She looked back up, feeling his gaze straying over her and seeming to go straight through her. "Oh… or does it have anything to do with the way you're looking at me now?"

His dark eyes were still traveling up and down her figure. "A little slow, aren't you?"

She blinked rapidly in confusion, her face flushing deep red again. "Oh, I… well… Why did you kiss me?"

Did she truly still not get it? This was more than just a little slow on the uptake, and Azzanadra was feeling his patience being tested. How in Zaros' name did she not see what was right in front of her?

"You really do not know? My dear, do you still think your affection is onesided?"

"I—No! I... don't get it, is all…" Jaina sighed, mentally cursing herself for sounding so stupid. "Wait, wait, no, what I mean is… I… Why me? Why would you go for little me? I'm not even all that pretty …"

She decided to shut up before she could make a fool of herself any further, and resisted the urge to slap her forehead repeatedly.

"It seems I still have much to show you," Azzanadra said, taking her hand again. "You do realize that none of the progress towards our lord's return, none of this—" he motioned to the surrounding temple— "would be here now if not for you? That I would still be in that blasted pyramid to this day if not for you? That you are still going to be instrumental in Zaros' great plan?"

"I know all that," said Jaina, blushing slightly, "but I'm still a simple common-born adventurer, not at all worthy of Zaros' champion himself…"

At this Azzanadra couldn't help but burst out laughing. "Oh, Jaina, quite the contrary—you've more than proven your worth! And as for your claim to not be pretty, well, you're wrong about that as well."

"I-I am?" She swallowed and took a few steps back, inadvertently backing into the wall.

"Very wrong indeed. Do you realize, my dear, just how long tens of thousands of years is—and how lonely all that time is when you have no one by your side to spend it with?" He proceeded to lightly caress her hand, reveling in how sleek and soft it felt to the touch. "And then you show up… Do you still truly think that I would pass up such an opportunity?"

Her mind had come to terms with the fact that he definitely liked her that way, possibly more than she had ever liked him, but she wasn't sure quite what he was intending to do about it.

"Oh, Azzanadra… Wh-what exactly are you saying?"

"I am saying that I very much wish to claim you as my own. Zaros has promised that my loyalty will not go unrewarded… perhaps that reward will be you." Smiling, Azzanadra leaned forward to kiss her once more. "That is, if you'll have me."

Jaina turned pale as she realized exactly what he meant. "_What?_"

"I promise to be gentle." Tilting her chin up so that her gaze met his again, he slowly held out a hand. "Jaina, will you give yourself over to me?"

Jaina stared nervously into his eyes, her mind racing. What was she supposed to do? What should she say? She had always thought him so far out of her league that she had never even considered the possibility of that kind of thing at all. She didn't even normally have any interest whatsoever in sexual relations anyway, not when there was a whole world full of much more exciting things to do. There was also the little detail that she still wasn't exactly over the loss of her husband. If she had to think about her wedding night, she would start thinking about losing Brand the very next day.

It was also one thing to sleep with an ordinary human, but this would open up whole new cans of worms. Would she even be able to handle him, considering as he had easily wiped out entire armies on his own? He could reduce her to paste before she even noticed anything if he wanted! Sure, he'd promised to be gentle, but knowing the Mahjarrat, "gentle" by their standards might very well mean "only leave you slightly black and blue." And if anyone else ever found out what she'd done… the other Zarosians might question her loyalty, and the rest of Gielinor would be… well, very unsympathetic. It wouldn't do to have everyone be pissed off at the World Guardian; she never knew who might come for her head on a plate.

On the other hand… should she really say no? She would feel terrible about turning him down, and she still owed him one for the Ancient Magicks—for everything he'd given her, really. She had never been sure what an adequate repayment would be; perhaps she herself was the best thing she could possibly give. And as far as favors went, "Sleep with me" was certainly far more reasonable than "Run to the furthest reaches of the Wilderness and go poke the Chaos Elemental."

Besides, her curious side was itching to know more… and even though he _could_ turn her into paste, that didn't mean he _would_. The thought of being with someone like that was starting to seem thrilling, adventurous even. That's what this would be—another adventure, and nothing would be trying to kill her either. It would likely hurt, but she was used to getting hurt.

And at least Azzanadra would actually call her Jaina—sure, she liked the Fremennik well enough despite their issues; she would gladly be Balrak for them. Nonetheless she had still wished that her husband would've called her by her real name when they were alone together.

She shut her eyes tight, her thoughts turning into a quick prayer. _Oh, Zaros… I'm so nervous, I don't know what to expect… but if this was meant to happen, then I submit my fate to you… Please watch over me!_

Slowly opening her eyes again, she made her decision.

"Yes, Azzanadra…"

She then slowly pulled out her hair ties, letting her hair spill down and over her shoulders, before slipping her quivering hand into his.

That "yes…" oh, he hadn't heard a sound so wonderful since first hearing Zaros' voice again through the communion portal! Oh, how much harder to resist she looked now, with her hair flowing free, her eyes shining brightly, her lips so inviting! Truly the Empty Lord had brought him a gem.

"Very well… Come closer."

She did, a little apprehensively, and he swiftly pulled her into a firm embrace, kissing her once again. As he did, she rose up on tiptoe to respond in kind.

It wasn't long before he slightly parted his lips, this time letting her explore his mouth. She did so curiously, her tongue shakily circling his—though she didn't last very long at it before coming up for air.

He lightly brushed aside several locks of purple hair that were hanging in her eyes, planting kisses on her forehead and cheeks. His hands traveled slowly across, up, and down her figure as he began to trail feverish kisses down her jawline to her neck.

She shivered a little and couldn't help but gasp when she felt his lips brush her neck. Several more shivers went down her spine as he swept her hair aside, kissing and licking at her neck.

"Ah…"

Hearing her small cry urged him on, causing his kisses to grow more intense as he continued making his way down her neck, humming softly as he went. One of his hands slid under her overcoat so he could trace her spine, and already he was feeling around to pull it aside from the front.

Sensing his intentions, Jaina drew back a bit and quickly slipped off her backpack, setting it and her staff down and to one side. She then opened her overcoat slightly, blushing deeply, and he guided it off the rest of the way. The silvery-blue garment fell from her shoulders as fluidly and gracefully as her hair had come down, and it landed on top of her backpack.

Her dress, however, was a far different story, as Azzanadra discovered when he let a hand stray up her skirt and tried to slip it up and over her head. The skirt barely moved upward at all, the whole dress fit her too tightly for him to get a hand past her waistline, and no amount of pulling at the neckline from the top could make it budge a hair either.

Trying to hide his growing annoyance, he continued attempting to get the dress to move an inch, but to no avail. It stayed right where it was, closely clinging to her, as if it were possessive of her and didn't want to share her with anything else—almost as if it were taunting him.

This was absolutely ridiculous. He was Azzanadra, champion of Zaros, mightiest of the mighty Mahjarrat, and yet he couldn't get a stupid overpriced dress off the lovely adventurer before him. How had she even managed to put the damn thing on? He was getting sorely tempted to simply slice it down the front, but that wasn't an option—she probably hadn't brought a change of clothes, and she would likely be very upset if he destroyed it anyway.

Jaina blushed and giggled, her gray eyes lighting up as she smiled. "Oh, Azzanadra…"

She pointed to something behind her head. "It has buttons in the back."

So that was why it was such a pain! Perhaps he hadn't noticed this before because her hair would have been in the way.

It didn't take him long to find the buttons, which were indeed behind her hair. Unfortunately, they were also small—and slick, as they kept slipping out of his grasp nearly every time he tried to get one undone.

How had she ever gotten this accursed dress on, or off? More importantly, who was the idiot who designed something like this? Now he understood why human women had such a reputation for taking forever to get dressed—the morons who designed their clothing made it near-impossible to get in or out of!

The young adventurer seemed to find the whole thing amusing, if the way she was giggling at his failures was any indication. He didn't see what was so funny or why she would be pleased with this, since she had willingly agreed to let him have her.

"I don't know how you stand to wear this," he said, managing to get a button loose. "Or why you seem to find this funny."

She blinked. "I'm used to it I guess… Oh, I-I don't mean to laugh at you; I just didn't imagine you'd have problems with something so simple!"

"Watch yourself, my dear. You might very well regret laughing once I'm done with you." One more button undone; he was getting closer. Patience would pay off in the end.

She blinked again, looking confused. "Do I really wanna know?"

"You'll see soon enough." Only one more button to go after this one. "Consider wearing the gift I sent you next time."

The last troublesome button finally yielded, and this time when he tried to slip the dress over her head, it gave way and she slipped out of it with relative ease… only to reveal that she had several white cotton bandages binding her chest in place.

Just what he needed—yet another annoyance that would take forever to deal with! Zaros would have already returned by the time he found out where those bandages ended or began.

To his relief, Jaina spared him the trouble and quickly loosened her bindings herself, discarding them on top of her other clothing. Her undergarments followed, and she shivered and hastily tried to cover herself.

"Let me see you, Jaina. All of you."

Turning a deep red, she lowered her arms, shivering profusely as she stood by before him. Azzanadra smiled softly, his dark eyes seeming to light up as he gazed at the beautiful sight.

She was even lovelier than he could have imagined. Her hair, only partially covering her shapely breasts, flowed freely over her shoulders in a shock of bright purple. Her hips, although small, were still just wide enough, and her slender legs seemed to go on forever. Her fair skin, almost seeming to glow, was surprisingly devoid of the scars and wounds he had expected to see on such a seasoned adventurer—instead, it looked pale and smooth, save for a few black and blue places and small cuts and scrapes here and there. Evidently she healed well. Part of him wanted to go the usual Mahjarrat way of showing affection and leave her even more black and blue, but another part of him couldn't stand the thought of damaging her. She was like a flower, so soft, so smooth, so bright, so delicate… _his_ little flower.

Oh, how he would revel in everything she had to offer. He wished to explore every inch of her, touch her, kiss her, hear her scream his name... The question was, where to start?

"Not all that pretty, you said… Oh, Jaina, how wrong you were!" Placing a hand on her shoulder, he drew her closer. "Senntisten at the height of its glory could have only wished it were as beautiful as you."

She giggled softly and looked down with an awkward smile, a few strands of hair falling over her eyes. "Oh… you really… why, I… Ah!"

He lifted her up with ease, cutting off her startled cry with a ravenous kiss. As he explored her mouth once more, she shivered and latched onto him as tightly as she possibly could. He couldn't help but smile against her lips, reveling in how soft and delicate she felt to the touch.

As they came up for air, she fell back slightly, her hair falling to one side to expose her neck. Taking advantage of the opportunity, Azzanadra let her fall further back, just enough so that he had a decent view of her upper half. Keeping one hand on her backside to support her, he moved in to kiss her neck again, his other hand caressing her breasts and stomach.

It occurred to Jaina, even as she continued to let out small cries, that she was going to have to try to be somewhat quiet; after all, she would have to keep this discreet. If she were to scream at the top of her lungs, someone might hear her. She didn't know if she would be able to keep quiet though, what with the way his searing kisses were trailing down her neck, the way his strong hand was stroking and squeezing her breasts, not too roughly, but not too lightly either… She could feel a growing warmth rising in the pit of her stomach, even as she still felt shivers down her spine with every touch.

No sooner had she considered the need to be quiet than he lightly bit down on the sensitive skin of her neck, getting a not-at-all-quiet yelp out of her. Grunting softly, he licked the spot, earning another—slightly quieter, but only slightly—cry from her before he continued trailing kisses down her neck to her collarbone.

He lingered on her collarbone for a bit, still fondling her breasts and stomach, though the sound of her voice encouraged him to go further down—which he did quite eagerly. Taking a moment to admire the view, he turned his attention to her breasts, swiftly catching one in his hand and the other in his mouth.

"Ah—aaaa-ah!" she squeaked loudly, a particularly intense shiver surging through her.

He couldn't help but grin at that as he licked at her breast, relishing how delightful the feeling—and her flavor—was. Adventurer au naturel definitely tasted nice.

"Oh… ah…" Her cries were consistently louder now, and she couldn't help but clutch tightly at his robes as she shivered with delight. He switched sides, his hand and mouth working a little faster, and lightly brushed his growing arousal against her leg as he went.

She let out a loud gasp and recoiled slightly—that had taken her off guard. The warmth she felt was spreading, growing slowly stronger, and the shivers that wracked her no longer felt so cold.

As much as Azzanadra was enjoying this, his urges were only growing, and his clothing seemed more and more constraining with every passing moment. Besides, he wished to feel that luxuriously soft flesh of hers against his own, to let her see him the way he could see her.

Carefully setting her back down, he gave her a quick kiss and proceeded to remove his own clothing, his dark eyes never leaving her. When he was through, only his usual headdress remained, and he waited for her to look him over.

Jaina stared up at him, wide-eyed, unblinking, her mouth open in a wordless gasp. She was blushing again, and she couldn't help but feel small. He looked just as powerful as he was, with broad shoulders, large, strong arms, and a very well-muscled physique. There were small, odd spines on the back of his shoulders, and his chest had stripes similar to the ones on his face. The sight only half surprised her; he hadn't looked nearly so well built with his clothing on.

She spent several moments staring at his chest, too nervous to look down. She had always found him rather handsome in an odd sort of way; she certainly didn't mind what she saw at all—it was rather fascinating, really. She imagined those strong arms wrapping around her protectively, shielding her from whatever might be trying to kill her.

Her curiosity soon got the better of her, and she swallowed hard and let her gaze stray downward—only to quickly snap her head straight back up, visibly cringing. She felt small, very small indeed, in more ways than one. The only thing she could think of was pain—she could even almost feel it.

Of course, she had suspected it was going to hurt, but actually seeing just how well endowed he was made her wonder if she would even be able to accommodate him. Presuming she could, would she be spending the whole time in pain?

She couldn't help but think of her first time—_dammit, not here, not now—_her memories of her wedding night were hazy, considering the events of the following day, but she knew she could never completely forget it. From what she could recall, it had been painful, and awkward, and she had cried, and her husband had been upset about causing her pain, and she'd bled a lot, and the pain hadn't subsided for awhile. It wasn't that it had been unpleasant; she'd been happy to be with her beloved and still remembered it fondly, but that didn't make it the most amazing night of her life, either. She couldn't remember all the details of what Brand had felt like, but she was pretty sure he had been nowhere near as well endowed.

Hardly had the thought crossed her mind than she mentally cursed herself for having it. _You moron, this isn't the time to think about someone else that way! Could you be any more discourteous?_

Azzanadra was shaking his head. Her reaction had struck a considerable blow to his pride. "You disappoint me, my dear."

Jaina recoiled, looking down at her hands. "Ah… sorry…"

"No matter," he said, pulling her firmly close to him. "Don't feel ashamed if you're nervous. I'm sure you will learn to love all of what you see soon enough."

He guided her hands to his shoulders. "Your turn."

Jaina hesitated, her hands trembling, a little unsure of what to do next. The intense warmth she felt from him seemed magical in nature, as if he were radiating power. Though she was still a bit apprehensive, she was growing to wish to feel more of him, to revel in his presence, to make him feel the sensations she had… even if she was indecisive about where to begin.

She glanced back up at his gray rejuvenated face, and it suddenly occurred to her what she could do first. Slowly she rose up, slipping one arm over his shoulder, and kissed him on the cheek, her free hand gently reaching up to touch the gem in his forehead. Pressing closer, she curiously traced a finger over it.

So she had correctly suspected that the gem served an important purpose—he had to commend her for her perceptiveness, though she most likely did not know what it truly was for. It wasn't exactly pleasurable for it to be touched, though he certainly wasn't going to complain about those slender hands being on him.

"What do you hope to accomplish by that, my little flower?"

She blinked and eyed him oddly. "Little flower? That's a first…"

"You're rather like one, you know." He embraced her tightly, relishing the feel of her form pressed into his.

"Well, uh…" The young mage smiled awkwardly, turning a little red. "Does any sort of flower do this?"

With that, she lightly kissed his cheek again, then planted one on his mouth. He returned her kiss eagerly, rather pleased that her apprehension seemed to be fading.

When she drew back, the Mahjarrat smiled and ran a hand through her hair. "It seems that mine does."

Smiling back, she tapped the gem a few more times before letting her hand drift down his cheek, her fingers moving in gentle strokes as she kissed him squarely on the mouth. He parted his lips, stroking her hair as he let her explore his mouth.

This time, she was a bit more confident in her exploration, and she seemed to maintain that newfound confidence as she traveled further down, randomly kissing his neck and shoulders, her hands sliding all across his chest. She seemed particularly focused on the stripes.

It was his turn to shiver—her kisses were still a little weak, but dear Zaros, was she good with her hands! No longer shaking, those pale, slender hands slowly and gracefully caressed every inch of his physique, and he could feel the curiosity in her touch that he could also see in her eyes. He would let her indulge that curiosity as much as she might wish to, and enjoy every moment of it—well, at least until he could no longer resist having her. After thousands of years of keeping his desires at bay, even mere minutes were starting to seem like too long to wait.

One of her hands slid further down his stomach, and she abruptly stopped, her hand trembling again. Though she dared not look down at it, she could feel a much more intensely burning heat radiating from what waited below.

Suddenly she felt his hand on her leg, slowly sliding upward. Startled, she recoiled and pulled her hand away from him.

"Part your legs a bit, my dear."

She did so a bit reluctantly, and his fingers traced the inside of her leg before coming to rest on her entrance gate. Hardly had the first cry escaped her lips than he slipped a finger into her, sending a powerful surge up her spine.

"Oh!"

Quickly she shut her mouth, biting the inside of her cheek. _Not so loud—I have to be quiet… Well, at least try not to have all Gielinor hear me…_

Her insides practically liquefied as he continued, though she did manage to keep her voice down somewhat as she cried out. The pulsing heat that had been spreading through her was growing rapidly stronger, and the magical warmth she felt from him only served to feed the flames further.

"Oh, ah… ah!"

She could feel her insides pulsating rapidly, and she wasn't sure if she could take this much longer—she didn't want him to stop or anything, but she knew she was very close to going over the edge, and the part of her that was still lucid worried she might faint.

Seeing the young adventurer like this, Azzanadra knew he could no longer hold his desire back. He couldn't wait even a minute more; he had to claim her now, make her his. Those thousands of years had taken their toll on him, and she was the only way to stop that longing ache.

Pushing her firmly against the wall, he lifted her up and carefully positioned her in such a way that she was straddling him, and then positioned himself at her entrance, his dark eyes meeting her gray ones.

Sensing his presence there, Jaina swallowed nervously and tensed her spine, trying to brace herself for impact. She felt her apprehension coming back, but there was no turning back now…

"I told you I will be gentle," Azzanadra said, squeezing her shoulders in hopes she would release some of the tension in her spine. "Now, shall I take you?"

Jaina shivered, feeling her mouth go dry, and slowly and shakily nodded. "Y-yes…"

Her voice was barely more than a whisper, and the word came out as a pathetic squeak.

"What's that, my dear? I didn't quite hear you."

"Yes!"

This time, the way her voice rang out, loud and clear, nearly startled her. She didn't seem to be doing too well with keeping quiet…

"Very well… Don't mind if I do."

With that he pressed forward and proceeded to enter her slowly, kissing her deeply before she could even make a sound. She shuddered and spasmed, her limbs flailing, and latched onto him for support as he broke the kiss and entered her fully.

Pain—suddenly that was all she knew, splitting, searing pain. Her eyes filled with tears—_dammit, stop that! You look stupid_—it was no use, she was crying now, and desperately trying to blink back the tears only made them flow more freely.

"Aaaaa-ah… ow… dear… Za…ros… I-it hurts…"

It wasn't the worst pain she'd ever felt; she'd endured far worse from being injured and smacked around… That knowledge didn't exactly help though; it wasn't going to make it hurt any less. Had her wedding night been nearly this painful? _Oh for Zaros' sakes, you shouldn't be thinking about that either! Dammit, it hurts, it really hurts…_

Azzanadra merely brushed her tears away and lightly traced her cheek. "Shhh, it will be alright."

For the next few moments he simply held her there, kissing away her tears, reveling in the way she tightly surrounded him, the way her legs were wrapped around him, the heat she radiated both inside and out, the smoothness of her skin against his. Oh, she was absolutely delightful!

She blinked back the next few tears, smiling weakly through her pain, and he moved his lips to her ear. "Now you're mine," he whispered softly.

Then he began to push, his movements slow and fluid so as not to hurt her. With each of his strokes, she couldn't help uttering a cry—considerably louder than before.

As she felt waves of pleasure surge through her, though the pain hadn't faded yet, Jaina wondered just how she had ended up in this spot. She had been minding her own business and had only showed up to pay respects to her god—how had she even gotten to this point from there? On the other hand, it seemed an awful lot of big, unexpected, world-shaking things tended to happen precisely when she was minding her own business. Surprise sexual relations with her spiritual mentor was a pretty tame unexpected thing compared to finding an Elder Artefact or witnessing the dawn of a new age, she supposed…

Azzanadra could never have imagined that a human woman would feel this wonderful in every conceivable way—oh, dear sweet Zaros, if only he could feel her like this forever! This sweet little adventurer was all his, and he never wanted to let her go.

He couldn't help but quicken his pace slightly, letting out deep grunts with each of his thrusts. His own guttural sounds complemented her sharp cries, which had become suddenly louder. Occasionally, he would silence her in mid-cry with a passionate kiss.

While pain was no longer an issue, Jaina realized too late that she couldn't control her voice. She was trying to keep quiet—really, she was. But her efforts were in vain; her cries, now nearly screams, only grew louder as the pulsing heat within her flared up with every movement.

"Ah! Ah—ah!"

Her position didn't allow her to move much at all, but she couldn't help but rock against him, trying to match his pace, her legs wrapping more tightly around him. This only served to urge him on further, and he grunted deeply and went a little faster and rougher—not enough to leave her black and blue, just enough to make her wail a bit louder.

Well, that wasn't the only effect he was having on her. The searing heat spreading from her core, the shockwaves and shivers that wracked her, the rhythm of his movements, the pulsating of her own insides and him inside her… it was getting to be too much… She didn't know how much longer she would last…

"Ah, ah… oh, I… can't… this… Gah… Ah!"

Her scream, long, loud, immodest, and joyous, reverberated through the temple walls and could be heard on the surface above—and the poor workers who had been unlucky enough to get the night shift panicked, thinking they were hearing the wailing of a ghost—as white heat ripped through her and she convulsed uncontrollably from her powerful release.

_Too soon!_ He still had a ways to go, though he had been holding back—too well, it seemed. On the other hand, it was absolutely amazing to see her go over the edge like that, to know that he had brought her there! And the wonderful sound of her voice crying out in such ecstasy—oh, he only wished that she would have screamed his name, and then it would have been perfect!

Grunting harshly, he quickened his movements again, his own breaking point close around the corner—oh, so close, yet so far—as she fell silent and went limp. The only sounds she made now were desperate gasps for air.

"Ah, my sweet… Jai… na…" he cried out, and, with one final push, kissed her once more as his own release overwhelmed him. Oh dear sweet Zaros, to think that a short-lived human could do this to him! Oh, she was indeed exquisite!

Such a shame it had to end… Gently he lifted her up and curled up with her on the floor, rocking her tightly against him as the last few waves of pleasure slowly subsided. She lay there weakly, eyes closed, head resting on his shoulder, still desperately gasping for breath.

The next few moments passed in silence, save for the purple-haired girl's ragged breathing. When she finally opened her eyes, they were filled with tears again.

Why was she crying? She wasn't hurt, half-dead, or anything; she had no reason to cry like an idiot in front of him now! Yet the waterworks were flowing again anyway… She buried her face in his shoulder, shivering a little as she silently wept.

He was the first to break the silence. "Was I too much for you, my little adventurer?"

"Oh… n-no…" She looked up at him, lips quivering as she shakily smiled. "I—I had a wonderful time…"

She slowly sat up and began to reach for her clothing, but he pulled her into a firm embrace and brushed a few stray locks of hair out of her eyes. "Jaina, wait. I can't let you go just yet."

Jaina blinked. She hadn't intended to be so rude as to leave right away; she had only thought she should get dressed again.

"Uh… Why? Is there anything else you want me to do first?"

"Well, when you put it that way…" His dark eyes gazed down at her, traveling all over her form. "Considering as I have a very lovely adventurer at my side, and the night is still young…"

She shook her head wearily. "Your lovely adventurer is too burned out to handle any more at the moment."

"Ha ha… how very human." Azzanadra smiled and kissed her forehead. "You do realize, my dear, that this is only the beginning? I will certainly be wishing to do this again—I do hope you will wish to as well."

Jaina bit her lip, feeling her mouth go dry. "Uh… So now I'm essentially your concubine?"

"My consort," he corrected, lightly tracing her spine. "You are willing, yes?"

"I-I'm willing… It'll take some getting used to, but I guess I could do that…" She blushed deeply and glanced at her hands. "Though I'm a little worried… I can't tell anyone about this; I-I don't think even the others would understand…"

"You needn't worry, my dear. This matter will remain between you, me, and the Empty Lord."

Jaina couldn't help but sigh in relief. So long as she could manage to not draw suspicion to herself, nobody would ever have to know about this. On the other hand, if she had to keep her faith a secret for much longer as well, it would probably become noticeable how stressed out she'd be.

"So when will Zaros return, anyway? I don't want to keep quiet anymore…"

Azzanadra could empathize; he had been getting rather sick of hiding and keeping quiet, too. It was necessary for Zaros' sake, and the sake of all his followers, but still. He still wondered how Wahisietel had managed to stand it for all that time.

"Patience, my dear. While it is refreshing not to have to sneak around, we cannot act just yet. Saradomin and Zamorak may have rushed into battle like the fools they are… We on the other hand must plan our path carefully."

The young adventurer nodded in understanding. "I—I guess I'd better keep to the usual stuff I do… I won't raise too much suspicion that way…"

Azzanadra let his hand catch in her hair, his dark eyes gazing warmly into her gray ones. "One thing is certain, though. The Empty Lord will return very soon, and on that glorious day, we will dance. Among… other things, later."

Jaina's eyes lit up, and she smiled, blushing a deep red. "I-I will look forward to it."


End file.
